Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Edinburgh

For one person, living is cheaper in Edinburgh: $2,601 a month against $2,853 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bristol outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
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Bristol Living Index
127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index

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Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,853

/mo nomad

Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,601

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bristol and in Edinburgh

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bristol and in Edinburgh actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Bristol versus $2,601 in Edinburgh.

Bristol $2,853
Edinburgh $2,601

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,195 in Bristol versus $3,985 in Edinburgh.

Bristol $4,195
Edinburgh $3,985

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,537 in Bristol versus $5,369 in Edinburgh.

Bristol $5,537
Edinburgh $5,369

Living in Bristol is roughly 10% more expensive than in Edinburgh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bristol 111% above, Edinburgh 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.72 £17.79

$23.67 £17.76

0.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$115 £86.1

$108 £81.4

5.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.90

$10.71 £8.04

-1.59%

Cappuccino

$5.23 £3.92

$5.25 £3.94

-0.38%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 £2.00

$2.48 £1.86

7.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.33

$2.17 £1.63

-18.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.84 £5.88

$7.94 £5.96

-1.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.83 £5.12

$8.00 £6.00

-14.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.69 £1.27

-9.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$2.35 £1.77

-30.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$2.36 £1.77

-15.25%

Eggs

$4.27 £3.21

$4.96 £3.72

-13.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 £6.12

$9.20 £6.91

-11.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.55 £7.17

$9.33 £7.00

2.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 £9.63

$15.79 £11.85

-18.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 £2.41

$3.01 £2.26

6.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.88 £1.41

-8.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.98

$3.42 £2.57

-22.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 £3.05

$3.67 £2.75

10.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$2.01 £1.51

1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.55 £1.16

-1.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.94

$1.32 £0.99

-4.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.93 £1.45

7.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.02 £17.27

$23.23 £17.43

-0.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.53 £7.90

$11.20 £8.40

-5.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 £2.11

$3.12 £2.34

-9.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.66

$3.27 £2.46

8.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.53 £2.65

$3.14 £2.35

12.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$120 £89.9

$97.0 £72.8

23.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 £2.62

$5.43 £4.08

-35.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.82 £1.37

-10.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.14 £20.36

$28.32 £21.25

-4.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.08 £1.56

-1.44%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$39.3K £29.5K

$38.6K £28.9K

1.94%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$41.3K £31.0K

$39.9K £29.9K

3.68%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$317 £238

$328 £246

-3.37%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.00 £12.76

$16.47 £12.36

3.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.33 £29.51

$42.32 £31.75

-7.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.53 £37.16

$44.41 £33.32

11.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.77 £8.83

$23.05 £17.30

-48.94%

Cinema Ticket

$15.31 £11.49

$14.39 £10.79

6.39%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,273 £1,705

$1,775 £1,331

28.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.0K

$25.6K £19.2K

-0.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 £76.1

$81.2 £60.9

24.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 £36.10

$49.04 £36.79

-1.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$108 £81.2

-2.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.1 £74.4

$115 £85.9

-13.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 £1,430

$1,600 £1,200

19.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 £1,075

$1,168 £876

22.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,065 £2,300

$2,803 £2,103

9.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,326 £1,745

$2,155 £1,617

7.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,885 £5,165

$6,714 £5,037

2.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,305 £3,980

$4,715 £3,538

12.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,771 £2,829

$3,558 £2,669

5.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

4.77

2.10%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bristol: October 17, 2026

Last update for Edinburgh: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bristol

$1.4K 50.3%

Edinburgh

$1.2K 44.9% 18.5% $266

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$373 13.1%

Edinburgh

$387 14.9% 3.6% $14

Eating Out

Bristol

$355 12.4%

Edinburgh

$359 13.8% 1.1% $4

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$306 10.7%

Edinburgh

$332 12.8% 8.4% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$159 5.6%

Edinburgh

$159 6.1% 0.3% $0.5

Getting Around

Bristol

$146 5.1%

Edinburgh

$124 4.8% 14.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$80 2.8%

Edinburgh

$73 2.8% 8.7% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,907 in Bristol and $1,600 in Edinburgh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays 6% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $115 in Bristol vs $108 in Edinburgh. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $332, with Bristol cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

Same time as Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

488,050

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bristol Edinburgh 500 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
Edinburgh

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bristol vs Edinburgh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bristol and Edinburgh differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $2,601 including rent). Edinburgh is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Bristol, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,907 in Bristol versus $1,600 in Edinburgh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bristol pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Edinburgh – a meal for two runs $108 versus $115 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Edinburgh is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bristol and Edinburgh are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Edinburgh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.